PROJECT KNOWLEDGE Day 46

Day 46: Des Moines Social Club & The Eagle Ridge RV park in Eagleville, Missouri

We departed from beautiful Lanseboro and headed straight to Iowa! We were all very excited when our RVs pulled up to The Des Moines Social Club in downtown Des Moines. Executive Director Zachary Mannheimer actually started his company with a similar adventure to ours. He went on a 22 city tour across America to find a town to implement the idea that was in his head. Upon his return, he packed up his life in New York City and moved to Des Moines, Iowa to create what is now called The Des Moines Social Club. It's an amazing & incredibly inspiring story. Check out Zach's travel blog from 2007 here!

"The Des Moines Social Club is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a physical space for the residents of Central Iowa to congregate, drink and live out whatever artistic passion they may desire, bringing together all walks of life. You may come for a drink. You may come for a show. You may come for a class or just a conversation." The mission is to "use the arts as a catalyst to create unprecedented community engagement."

This is a really neat and cutting edge organization.



Check out Junior meeting friends in the lobby of the social club!



Zach and his staff gave us a tour of their space. It is incredibly eclectic, hip, and very, very cool. The building was originally an old car dealership that was built in the early 1900's. Now it has been turned into a space that hosts everything from a bar... to an art gallery... to a theater.... to a dance studio... to a boxing ring... and so much more! There are SO many Des Moines Social Club events. Their schedule is quite impressive! (From Salsa Classes to Theatre Shows to Bingo nights!)

After the tour we were able to sit down with Zach and his team to hear about the incredible evolution of their company and how it is invigorating so many artists and community members in Iowa. Our conversation also led us to the very hot topic of creating a hybrid model for an arts organization. Such a model would have for-profit entities that were connected to and also helped fuel a non-profit organization. We believe that The Des Moines Social Club will be a forefront leader in pioneering such a model. We commend them for their artistic innovation and unprecedented community engagement in Des Moines! And we look forward to the evolution of their company which opened their doors in 2009.



After such an invigorating meeting, we hopped back in our RVs and headed to Eagleville, MO.

We stumbled upon one of our favorite RV campgrounds to date! The Eagle Ridge RV park was truly magical. We hung out with the owner Shelby around our camp fire and she was so happy that we were enjoying her little "piece of heaven". The sunset was simply astounding. It took our breath away and it was the absolute perfect way to end another perfect day. Tomorrow we are off to Kansas City to visit Jeff Church at The Coterie Theatre!












Thanks again Shelby for the awesome time at your RV park! We absolutely loved our stay and cannot wait to return someday!!!!